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Turkey's archaeology doyenne dies aged 98
Jan. 12, 2014
One of the most important figures in the archaeology world, Istanbul
University's retired academic Professor Halet Cambel, has died aged
98. Turkish archaeologist and writer Cambel was found dead in her
house on Jan. 12.
After a ceremony to be held tomorrow at 10 a.m. at the Bosphorus
University, Cambel will be buried next to the grave of her husband in
the western province of Mugla.
Born in Berlin, Cambel received undergraduate training in archaeology
at the Sorbonne University in Paris and received a doctorate in 1940
from the University of Istanbul. She competed in the women's
individual foil event at the 1936 Summer Olympics, becoming the first
Muslim woman ever to compete in the Olympics. After World War II she
began studying with German professor Helmuth Bossert. In 1974, both
came to Karatepe-Aslantas in the southern province of Osmaniye [Black
Mountain, Cilicia], and Cambel went on to dedicate almost her entire
life to this region.
She spent her life for a long time in Karatepe-Arslantas, first living
in a tumulus and then in a modest two-room house. She played a key
role in the understanding of Hittite hieroglyphics by discovering a
tablet with the Phoenician alphabet, which allowed philologists to
decipher the inscription.
Locals made a bust of her in 2005 in honor of her contributions to the region.
Turkey's archaeology doyenne dies aged 98
Jan. 12, 2014
One of the most important figures in the archaeology world, Istanbul
University's retired academic Professor Halet Cambel, has died aged
98. Turkish archaeologist and writer Cambel was found dead in her
house on Jan. 12.
After a ceremony to be held tomorrow at 10 a.m. at the Bosphorus
University, Cambel will be buried next to the grave of her husband in
the western province of Mugla.
Born in Berlin, Cambel received undergraduate training in archaeology
at the Sorbonne University in Paris and received a doctorate in 1940
from the University of Istanbul. She competed in the women's
individual foil event at the 1936 Summer Olympics, becoming the first
Muslim woman ever to compete in the Olympics. After World War II she
began studying with German professor Helmuth Bossert. In 1974, both
came to Karatepe-Aslantas in the southern province of Osmaniye [Black
Mountain, Cilicia], and Cambel went on to dedicate almost her entire
life to this region.
She spent her life for a long time in Karatepe-Arslantas, first living
in a tumulus and then in a modest two-room house. She played a key
role in the understanding of Hittite hieroglyphics by discovering a
tablet with the Phoenician alphabet, which allowed philologists to
decipher the inscription.
Locals made a bust of her in 2005 in honor of her contributions to the region.